This is incredible! Congratulations you really have earned it!
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Le Bump
I think some of the other people who are in the Thriller Contest will catch my drift, but Multiple Endings are in style right now. Part of me is like āYay! You helped start a trendā ā the other half of me is like, āwell, now I have to find a new trendā¦ā
Itās hard to tell at the moment what itās going to be, but I think it will be point system relationships.
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So, I went through a bad rut - a lot of factors led to the way I felt, I had burnout from the grind of writing and directing as well as promoting, frustration at the lack of progress my story was making, irritated at the quality of my story, fearing that my story was mediocre as I did not have awesome overlays and super duper advanced directing, being difficult to engage with and generally like āugh, what have I done?ā I was in a pretty foul state of mind for a few days, I was completely ready to just stop writing CP, it took a lot in me to not make a post going āmy story is now discontinuedā and I am still needing a bit to recover from being a cynical little cow.
I forgot about the importance of writing for the sake of enjoyment and treated it as some kind of product. I had to get THAT many reads at that time and seeing other stories blow up whereas I was worried my story would grow stagnant. However, actually I do not need validation in the form of numbers and associating my achievement & quality of my story as a writer through plainly looking at my ranking & read count was detrimental to my mental health. There were times I felt really anxious and physically sick due to the numbers.
I did a foolish thing, I considered the numbers and reads a way to determine my quality as a writer but when I was in my rut I was not in a clear state of mind. I forgot the effect my story had on people, the number of people who have loved and recommended my story, the friends I made and the enjoyment of the writing process. My perspective was on āoh, so this author is getting 200 reads in the span of like 2 weeks. How!?ā āThis must mean my story is bad, why did I even bother writing this piece of crap?ā
Any authors, please know this is a toxic mindset and I am not impressed to have thought in such a way. Numbers donāt mean shit, I have read so many breathtaking stories with a relatively low read count but by no means whatsoever did it mean their story was bad. Iām quite quick to bounce back from feeling a certain way so I recovered fairly quickly from this feeling.
I never should have compared myself to other writers, I write in a certain way and it has resonated with some readers - the words of encouragement, the kindness and praise of my readers is insane. Thank you anyone who has read my story giving me constructive feedback and general love or just reading the story as you are the ones who have kept me afloat. If this community wasnāt as supportive as it was, I was ready to quit.
Surprisingly, I was in tears at the idea that CP would end. I didnāt want that to happen yet it played on my mind that it should just be discontinued to serve mercy. However, a few days break made me realise that I should cut myself some slack and actually, I am not as crap as a writer as I feared.
Now, I feel far better. A few days ago, the idea of going on the Portal made me go no. Screw that. Now, I am adding scenes to improve character development as well as show off how much my directing has advanced and adding more layers of personality to my characters.
Why am I telling you this? Maybe, I donāt know- even one person who feels the same way as me reads this and thinks to themselves, I am better than I think I am. So dear reader, cut yourself some slack, youāre doing a great job and the fact you have shown your creative idea on an app is amazing - well done and keep at it. Everybody goes through a rut and itās a pain in the ass but remember this, your story matters, your idea matters because some people have read it out there and they loved it. They loved your plot, they loved the story and they are cheering you on!
I guess, having that crappy experience and burnout helped me realise I need to be a lot kinder to myself in regards to writing. People are so kind to me saying they are waiting for the day my story reaches one million or is on a shelf, that would be any authorās dream come true but I already have had the greatest gift. A readerās love.
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So, my new story is a mystery. I donāt know if I should include romance in it, because I feel like every Episode story has itā¦ I have a lot of ideas. I donāt want them to go to waste.
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The most often fanmail I get is āDoes this story have romanceā and it can be quite upsetting because adding romance can possibly hurt the outcome I am going for, but I also want to please my readers.
I found three ways to solve this delima. The first one is simple, I donāt listen to my readers. There is are readers who enjoy a non romance focus story, and if they donāt like it, they can find a different story. The second way I do this is by having a romance that never ever goes beyond blushing. This kinda reminds me of Miraculous Ladybug, and how the two main characters never actually truly kiss, but have these super flirty moments.
The third way how I solve this is by giving the reader the option to have romance. If they want romance, Iāll throw in a scene or two every few episodes. Those who donāt want it, donāt see it.
Anyway, best of luck to you.
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Thank you! I should try this, what stories have you done as an example?
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hmm my third option I use in my Thriller Entry, Prophesying Lies.
I use the second option in my old-H&V Entry, Bad To the Bone. (if you chose to read this, I recommend being a male, as most people ship the male-MC with Zion more than any other ship in the story.)
I havenāt exactly used the first one, Iāve def said to my readers leave my story if you are bothered by the direction the story is going.
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Ah. Have your stories won with these strategies?
I always use the first option because I am one of those authors who arenāt really interested in writing romance but I have used the second option as well in my second story.I really liked that someone as a episode author also uses these.Iām sure going to give your one of your stories a try some day, lee.
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My thriller entry? TBD.
While I did not win with my H&V entry, I wouldnāt say I lost thought. I have dedicated readers who look forward to every chapter, and share screen shots with me. Itās cute and self-esteem boosting with the amount of encouragement I get, and tbh, itās feels alot more real than my most popular story.
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Your most popular story? Galileo School of Magic?
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Soā¦ thereās one story I have on the app that I really hate. Iāve never hidden it from my profile though, because I guess if people want to read it, Iām not going to stop them. In fact, the other day I got a notification that it had reached 100 reads (yay?). But recently I had an idea to write over it. Since we canāt delete stories, I figured Iāll just write a COMPLETELY different story on top of that one so it will be as if I have managed to delete it.
But then I just checked the writers portal and I had a fanmail for itā¦ and Iāve only seen a couple (like 2 or 3 people) put it on their recommends shelfā¦ So Iām momentarily thinking maybe I shouldnāt delete it??? But itās a completed short story also, so people who have read it have finished it and people who havenāt read it arenāt going to be missing out on much anywayā¦
IDK, Iām just not proud of it. It was a poor entry for a contest ages ago and I know I can write a lot better now. But is it weird to do that when crazily enough there are people that like it? 
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Soā¦ Thereās an old idea that I had for one of my stories. It was a āshe meets you, she wants to become youā storyline. How do I use that idea, into a Thriller?
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I think that if youāre not proud of it, maybe not scrap it altogether but revamp it, it may not be so bad, you may have just not known as much about writing as you do now.
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Iām not sure what topics you guys usually cover, but I usually lurk around this chat and find it interesting how you guys talk about all these writing ideas and mild problems. I have a question of my own, if you guys donāt mind. I was going to enter the new contest and I wondered if you guys found the description interesting enough: āWhat steps carve the path to destruction? Maverick will find out, but the question is: how late?ā
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Hahahaha, Iāve considered that, but in my opinion my writing is far too cringe-worthy to be saved this time around. Itās just totally not my genre. I see it there and question what I was thinking joining that contest in the first place 
Thanks for your response btw 
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No problem, but are you sure you donāt want to try and save it? In my opinion, nothing is TOO cringy.
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On my cringe: Well, I really think itās way too cringeā¦ But I guess a lot of people like it since it has the most reads out of all the contest entries Iāve doneā¦ Idk. 
Will put a pin in this for now maybe.
On your story description: itās very intriguing. If anyone else were to suggest that, Iād say it would depend also on what genre and the cover to go with it, but since itās you I know I would read it anyway because I already know I like your style of writing.
Iām glad youāll think about revamping your story About my stories: Iām honored you feel that way <3, but looking through them and all the stories Iāve written on paper, I feel like they lack something (I have no idea what it is yet). Theyāre missing the WOW factor in my mind and Iām hoping writing a short story would give me the idea of what it is.
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Theyāre lacking something? Yeah, lacking some updates. Hahaha, only teasing you. I can understand what youāre saying from personal experience, though I donāt see that when I have read your stories 
But hopefully a short story will help you get the wow factor you think you might be missing anyway 